Acid House and Madchester: Photographs by Peter J Walsh

The rise of acid house in the UK during the late 1980s marks one of the most transformative periods in the country’s music and cultural history. Emerging from the underground club scenes of Chicago, where DJs like Frankie Knuckles and Larry Heard experimented with the squelching, hypnotic sounds produced by the Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer, acid house quickly made its way across the Atlantic and found fertile ground in the UK, especially at The Haç.

ACID HOUSE

At the heart of Manchester’s acid house era in the late 1980s was photographer Peter J. Walsh. Peter captured the energy and hedonism of the nights at the Hacienda, blending in amongst friends on the dancefloor. His images provide a unique perspective on this cultural explosion in the city as he captured the city’s faces and colourful fashions that adorned the Hacienda dancefloor. Between 1988 and 1990, Manchester became Madchester, a cultural mecca and a global hub for music and fashion.

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY

Peter, “I began working as a photographer for a documentary co-op in Manchester in the mid-eighties. I learned how to process films, make contact sheets, and black and white prints. The photographers in the co-op worked individually but would meet once a month to compare and critique each other’s work and printing skills. The training I received in all aspects of documentary photography during this time would prove invaluable to me as the rave scene hit Manchester just a few years later.

THE HAÇIENDA

“Around the same time I began shooting for City Life, Manchester’s equivalent of Time Out in London, I was also photographing the burgeoning club scene at The Haçienda and other clubs in the city. Tony Wilson got me to photograph the Happy Mondays gig on Granada TV’s The Other Side of Midnight, which he hosted. After sending those images down to the NME in London, I was asked to be their photographer covering the North of England. I also started working regularly for The Face, i-D, and Mixmag.”

TEMPERANCE CLUB

As a photographer, Peter used to go out into the city to document what was happening around Manchester. He would attend events at The Haçienda, including ‘Hot’ and ‘The Temperance Club’, a student night on Thursdays with DJ Dave Haslam, which fused indie, disco, and house music.

CULTURAL MOVEMENT

As acid house exploded, Peter knew that Manchester and The Haçienda, particularly, were at the epicentre of a cultural movement. Aside from documenting club culture in the city, he also took photos of the numerous bands, raves and DJs that helped shape and define the music scene that came out of the city.

"The acid house and rave generation was a revolutionary time in musical and British cultural history. On the back of a grim, economically challenging decade under Thatcher and the last era before smartphones and the internet age, it united a generation. Ecstasy and music brought young people together, from single mums and students to council workers and football hooligans. Lifelong friendships were forged, and ideas were created that continue to influence on a global scale."